German Education Minister quits amid plagiarism scandal

German Education Minister Annette Schavan resigned on Saturday after being stripped of her doctorate for alleged plagiarism, in an embarrassing blow to her ally Angela Merkel, Reuters reports. The move came four days after the University of Duesseldorf ruled Schavan, a close confidante to the chancellor, had “systematically and intentionally” copied parts of her thesis, and withdrew her Ph.D, granted more than 30 years ago.
“Annette Schavan offered her resignation last night,” Merkel told reporters.
“I accepted this resignation with a very heavy heart,” the chancellor added, saying Schavan was putting the public good ahead of her own welfare.
Merkel, who lost her defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg in a similar scandal two years ago, made no mention of the charges against Schavan…